Impotence or inability to achieve penile erection is quite prevalent and many solutions have been proposed and are available in the art to cure or compensate for the condition. In particular, various types of penile prostheses are commercially available.
The majority of penile prostheses fall into two types. These two types are the inflatable, implantable prosthesis and the simple implantable inherently stiff or substantially rigid prosthesis. The inflatable prosthesis is normally implanted in pairs within the corpora cavernosa and connected to hydraulic pumping means, also implanted within the patient's body, which means enable the prosthesis to be inflated for erection and deflated for flaccidity. The simple or non-inflatable, prosthesis is also generally implanted in pairs in the corpora cavernosa and, in view of its inherent stiffness, provides a generally constant erection. Hence, it is desirable to provide positionability so that the erection may be at least partially concealed by the patient. Positionability is generally achieved by making the simple prosthesis bendable or malleable and the prosthesis provided by the present invention is of this simple type, herein designated as a malleable prosthesis.
A number of prior art prostheses deal with the requirement of positionability by providing various forms of segmented or articulated structures. Such structures are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,665,902; 4,666,428 and 4,807,608 and 4,881,531.
Another form of positionable prosthesis comprises an elastomeric rod and a metal wire coil coaxially embedded within at least a portion of the rod, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,456.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,562 discloses a limited bend malleable penile prosthesis comprising an elongated malleable element having bend limiting means comprising a plurality of engageable adjacent elements positioned in co-operative juxtaposition with said malleable element.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,789 discloses a malleable penile prosthesis comprising an elongated malleable rod portion housed within a generally tubular, physiologically inert plastic body; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,998 discloses a similar type of prosthesis but having a somewhat more elaborate and improved structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,357 discloses a penile prosthesis comprising an implantable flexible rod member formed by a core portion comprising a plurality of metallic wires, typically high-purity silver, and an outer casing comprising implantable plastic material around the core portion.
It has now been found that an improved malleable penile prosthesis of the type having a malleable core accommodated within a tubular sheath may be provided as hereinafter described, which prosthesis has improved positionability and improved performance.